One of the biggest downsides of pet rats is that they pee everywhere! Girls and guys alike may dribble when they walk, leave their waste all over their cage, and even pee on you (and your furniture).
The ammonia can definitely stink up a room quickly, as well as damage your rats’ already delicate respiratory systems. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Believe it or not, pet rats can actually be litter trained! And it’s SO worth your effort. You can just toss out their poops to keep their cage smelling fresh in between cleans. Your rats stay a lot cleaner and healthier too when they aren’t playing in their own waste.
Many rats will naturally choose a location to use for a bathroom, so their instincts make it somewhat easy to litter train them.
Pick out a litter box
You can either buy a litter box or DIY. It doesn’t really matter what you use as long as it’s big enough, and obviously different from the rest of the rat’s cage.
Plastic litter boxes for rats
Plastic containers work well as litter boxes because they don’t degrade quickly. Your rats might chew on it, but it’ll still last a long time.
Plastic can easily be cleaned and reused, and it’s different enough from the other things in their cage that rats should quickly associate it with being the litter box.
DIY Rat Litter Boxes
You can use a biggish cardboard box as a litter box too. Preferably the box will be wide open, with no walls or roof, so that they don’t treat it like a hidey house.
The downside to using cardboard is that you’ll need to replace it often. It’ll get too soggy and gross.
What to use for litter
Ideally, the litter you use inside the litter box will be different from the rest of the cage. Otherwise your rat wont be able to tell the difference.
Paper towel is one option for inside the litter box. You can easily put another piece outside of their cage during free roam time as well. With that said, some rats will just shred the paper towel and use it for nesting material.
CareFresh bedding comes to mind as a great litter box material. It’s a little too dusty to use for their entire cage, but very absorbent and rats don’t tend to eat it as much as other litter options.
As a side note: rats do eat their own poop from time to time. This is normal for rats, so don’t worry about stopping them from doing it!
Find a good spot for the litter box
If your rats have already chosen one corner or area of their cage to poop and pee in, that’s the perfect spot for their litter box. If not, you might have to get a bit more creative.
Rats naturally prefer any large enough flat surface to pee and poop on. You’ll probably notice this if your cage has plastic shelves. You can take advantage of their instincts by keeping litter boxes on top of the shelves.
Whatever your rats already seem to be using as a bathroom is a great place to start.
Training rats to use the litter box
Take advantage of their natural instincts
The easiest way to train rats to use the litter box is to just to keep some of the dirty bedding after the rest of their cage has been cleaned.
Place a few of your rats’ poops and soiled bedding inside the litter box to start with. (I know, it sounds gross! You can use gloves or even a little scoop. Be cautious if they’re inside their cage, because some rats get confused and will bite gloves.)
Many rats will figure it out right away just from the smell inside the litter box. Some will be cheeky and just pick a different corner instead. 😉 Like humans, some rats have a natural tendency to be super clean while others can be slobs. But we love them anyway!
You might have to keep scooping their poops into the litter box until they take the hint. Especially if you do it in front of them, they’ll make the connection.
Notice their bathroom habits
If you’re fast enough, you might be able to catch them in the act.
If you see your rats using the litter box for its intended purpose, you can praise them verbally or give them a small treat for their efforts.
If you see them doing the deed outside of their litter box, you can physically move them into the box instead in the hopes that they’ll poop there.
Encouraging them to pee inside their litter box
Introducing… (drumroll please) the pee rock!
No, I’m serious. It’s not a joke! Many rat fanciers swear by this.
For some reason, rats are naturally drawn to peeing on smooth, flat rocks. Yeah, like the ones you find outside! Pick one that’s around 3-4” wide. If it’s too small, they might not notice it.
Give it a good rinse before you put it in their cage to avoid any bugs, soil or weird smells that might be lingering on it.
As with pooping, if you see them using their pee rock, give them lots of encouragement.
Simply enough, you can clean their pee rock by running it under water. A rock that’s not too porous is ideal for this, as it wont retain odors.
Litter training outside the cage
My rats preferred to relieve themselves inside their cage where they were most comfortable. They would avoid pooping and peeing outside their cage unless they were out for too long.
They even seemed a little embarrassed if they had an “accident” outside their cage! If you give your rats access to their cage while they’re out running, they may naturally return to their cage to use the bathroom.
Some of them will even indicate to you that they’re eager to get back into their cage by standing up on their hind legs near it or doing a little dance.
If their cage isn’t accessible, you can take the litter tray out of the cage with them. Make sure it’s obvious to them that it’s there, and return them to the litter box every 20-30 minutes if they’ve been playing for a long time to remind them.
Temper Your Expectations
Rats can be encouraged to use a litter box, and are pretty good at it, but they can’t always be fully house trained the way a dog can.
They may still have a few poops outside of their litter box, but it still makes a big difference in keeping the cage cleaner.
I’ve read a lot that male rats are more likely to “mark” (i.e dribble pee) than females, but my female rats were definitely just as guilty. If you’re persistent, sometimes you can teach them to save it for inside their litter box.
It’s not unusual to find your rats sitting and sleeping in their litter box. They LOVE any little box or hammock they can hang out in.
You can try to avoid this by placing other houses and hammocks for them, but some rats are just silly and will hang out in their litter box anyway. Picking a box without a roof makes it a lot less attractive as a nest.
Mistakes when litter training
Punishing your rats for accidents
Rats learn best through positive reinforcement. It’s better to encourage them when they use the litter box instead.
If they do have accidents, you can move their poops into their litter box, or try to move your rat while it’s in the process!
Punishing your rats will only scare and confuse them.
Getting a litter box that’s too small
Picking a litter box that was too small was my downfall the first time I tried litter training my rats. They outgrew it within a couple weeks and thought it was a nest, not a toilet!
Rats need a fairly large litter box because they don’t have great aim, and they love picking small, secure little spots to have a nap.
Not securing the litter box down
Rats love to wrestle each other and go nuts, so if you don’t anchor the litter box down, there’s a good chance it’ll go flying at some point. Finding your rats’ scattered poops all over your floor is not ideal, to say the least.
Some litter boxes come with hooks to keep them secured to the cage bars. Sometimes you can use twist ties, as long as your rats aren’t prone to chewing them. Or simply use a litter box that’s heavy enough that it stays put.
FAQ
Are rats easy to potty train?
It totally depends on your rat. Some rats take to the idea right away. They may have already picked out a corner of their cage to use as a toilet, which makes your job even easier!
Others may be messier and avoid using a litter box, especially in the beginning. But rats are a lot smarter than they get credit for, and they can definitely learn!
Often when you introduce new rats to rats who have already been litter trained, the new ones will follow their lead and pick it up in no time.
How long does it take to potty train rats?
You can expect anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. The amount of time you have to dedicate to litter training each day will make a difference too. They pick it up faster when you can be consistent.
What do I do if my rat pees on me?
If your rat peed a lot, it may have gone too long outside of its cage. Next time, you can try returning it to a cage or litter box every 20-30 minutes in case it has to go.
If (s)he just “dribbles” on you, you could try saying “no!” immediately after it happens to indicate to your rat that you don’t like that. Litter training in general should help teach your rat where you prefer it to go!
In conclusion
Litter training rats definitely takes some time and attention, but you’ll thank yourself later! Have you tried to litter train your rats? How did it go?
